Sir Guy Williams
Born(1881-09-10)10 September 1881
Bangalore, British India
Died2 February 1959(1959-02-02) (aged 77)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1901–1941
RankGeneral
Service number8372
UnitRoyal Engineers
Commands heldEastern Command (1938–41)
5th Infantry Division (1937–38)
Staff College, Quetta (1934–37)
8th Brigade (1927–28)
199th Brigade (1918)
Battles/warsSecond Boer War
First World War
Arab revolt in Palestine
Second World War
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
Distinguished Service Order
Mentioned in Despatches (7)

General Sir Guy Charles Williams, KCB, CMG, DSO (10 September 1881 – 2 February 1959) was a British Army officer who served as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) Eastern Command during the Second World War.

Military career

Born in Bangalore in British India on 10 September 1881, Guy Williams was sent to England where he was educated at Sherborne School.[1] He later attended the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Royal Engineers and,[2] after serving briefly in the Second Boer War, served in the First World War.[3][1] His service in the war was outstanding, being mentioned in dispatches seven times and awarded the Distinguished Service Order in 1915 and, in 1918, commanding the 199th Brigade of the 66th Division, where he had previously been Commander Royal Engineers (CRE).[4]

After attending the Staff College, Camberley, graduating in 1919, Williams was appointed Deputy Military Secretary at the War Office in 1923 and the commander of the 8th Brigade in 1927.[5] In 1928 he became an instructor at the Imperial Defence College and then Engineer in Chief at Aldershot Command.[5] In 1934 he was appointed commandant of the Staff College, Quetta, in India, and in 1937 he became General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 5th Division.[5] The division was then stationed in Palestine during the Arab revolt.[4]

Williams served in the Second World War as GOC-in-Chief Eastern Command from 1938 to 1941, when he was appointed Military Adviser to the New Zealand Government: he retired later that year.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Smart 2005, p. 335.
  2. "No. 28389". The London Gazette. 24 June 1910. p. 4488.
  3. "No. 29833". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 November 1916. p. 11388.
  4. 1 2 Smart 2005, p. 336.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Generals.dk

Bibliography

  • Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnesley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496.
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